Shades of Green
by ThisIsWar
Summary: Agent Gowin is an experienced psychologist and has now been put in charge of overseeing Loki... and also to extract information. Will she complete her mission before Loki is able to pry himself into her mind? M to be safe. Loki/OC.


Shades of Green

Chapter One

by ThisIsWar

_A/N: I've been looking for a beta for quite a while now, so if you're interested, please let me know! Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters._

My name is Savannah Gowin, and I am a Special Agent for SHIELD. I was recruited straight out of college after an intimidating man named Nick Fury took notice to my research on severe personality disorders.

"Miss Gowin," he said one day, approaching me as I worked in a secure, on-campus research facility.

I stood up from my desk littered with textbooks, notes and data sheets, flabbergasted at how this ominous man with an eyepatch could've wandered in. I was caught so off-guard by this dark man, I was nearly trembling. It's amazing how much I've changed. "Sir," I said in a shaky voice, intimidated by his appearance, "I don't know how you got in here, but you are not authorized-"

"Miss Gowin, my name is Nick Fury. I work for an agency known as SHIELD. I would like to offer you a job."

I gaped at him and blinked dumbly. "Mr. Fury, I'm not sure how you know my name, but I already have a job," I replied, gesturing to the paperwork scattered around me.

"Earning the bare minimum at a job that hardly uses the extent of your knowledge cannot be satisfying."

Glancing at him questioningly, I pulled my white lab coat tighter around my body. "The extent of my knowledge?"

"Your work involving synapse structure in those with mental disorders was nothing short of astounding. I'd like to see what you can do with fully-funded resources."

With a blush, I had one final question: "What does this job entail?"

Fury looked at me square in the eyes. "A man who is desperate for your help."

And so then, in a flurry of background checks and blood tests, I began my training as a SHIELD agent. After months of simulations, I was finally able to meet the man I was supposed to save.

Bruce Banner.

I met him first at a SHIELD facility in Utah, one of our most isolated locations. Though I had been receiving pay from the agency for over a year, this was the first day I got to wear my uniform: a flexible leather bodysuit adorned with the SHIELD logo, "Special Agent Gowin" sewed about my chest, and a pair of gun holsters strapped to each thigh. I loved my uniform, and I was proud of the body I'd acquired through my extensive training.

I was reading over his files for the millionth time, so intrigued by a man who could control himself despite all odds. Fury had told me that Dr. Banner learning to control his second half would be the purpose of my job. But I intended to do better than that.

The door to my office shut and I glanced up. A man with dark, curly hair and a button-up green shirt with rolled sleeves walked in, his hands stuffed uncomfortably into his pockets. He had a pair of glasses folded into the breast pocket. He had a look of friendly anxiety about him.

I stood up from my seat and walked over to him, my black boots clicking on the linoleum tiling. "Dr. Banner," I said, smiling encouragingly. "I'm thrilled to meet you. I've been keeping up with your studies since I started my undergrad classes."

He gave me a little smile. "Thank you, but feel free to call me Bruce."

I extended my hand. "Bruce, my name is Savannah Gowin." He took my hand in his and gave it a quick shake.

Bruce's eyes drifted to the floor before meeting mine. "Do you think you can help me, Agent Gowin?"

My eyes met his and I gave him a mischievous smile. "Dr. Banner, I have bigger things in mind."

A year later, almost to the day, I declared my time with Bruce Banner a complete success and allowed him some well-deserved time away. I think he chose to move to India to practice medicine. Some of the other agents questioned this decision; they'd seen the Hulk emerge and were nervous at the idea of having him out of our grasp. However, I was confident not only in my ability to help Dr. Banner, but also in the control that he'd learned. Not only were we able to establish unwavering self-control, but with our studies combined, we were able to teach Bruce to shift on-command. I watched a man who was terribly jaded with himself transform into a man with confidence and control. It was amazing. In my free time I began developing a serum that would make him more clear-minded when in his Hulk form.

Unfortunately, my free time was cut short. I received word that an aircraft had been discovered in an icy tundra with Captain America frozen inside. Fury immediately assigned me to assist Steve Rogers' transition into modern-day society. Compared to working with the Hulk, Captain Rogers was a breeze. When Fury wrapped up that assignment, I spent most of my time helping agents who had trouble with PTSD and other issues related with their missions. It was easy, mindless work that I nevertheless put my heart into. Things were quiet for a while.

But only for a while.

My night begins with a thunderstorm.

After five years with SHIELD, I'm dumb enough to answer my phone when Fury calls.

"Agent Gowin," he says. "I need you to come in to the holding block."

I pause. It's nearly ten o'clock on a Friday night, and I'm laying in bed with a book, listening to the distant thunder. "For what?"

"You'll see," is the only response he gives me before hanging up.

With a frustrated sigh and Fury's constant illusiveness, I shut my book and slip out of my bed. Thunder rumbles above me, this time sounding closer. I step into my uniform and pull my blonde hair into a braid down my back. I slip my guns into their holster on my thighs and then put on a bit of makeup for good measure. After checking that I have my ID badge, I grab my keys and leave.

The rain hasn't started yet; massive, threatening clouds loom above me, illuminated by the city below. Electricity is palpable in the air. I step into my little black car just as the first drops splatter onto my windshield. By the time I reach the highway, it's pouring. Lightning slices through the sky, temporarily disorienting my vision. Seconds later, a vast cannonade of thunder shakes the sky. The rain sounds more like rocks being thrown at my car than drops of water.

I finally pull into the underground SHIELD facility. After an ID check and retinal scan, I head to Fury's meeting room. On the way, I swing by Dr. Banner's room.

"Hey, Bruce," I say as I walk in. "Welcome back. I trust your vacation was nice?"

"Hello, Agent Gowin," he greets me with a smile. "My time away was wonderful, thanks to your help. What brings you here so late?"

"Fury called me in. And how many times must I ask you to call me Savannah? We're practically partners around here." We'd spent the majority of our time with SHIELD working closely together.

A blush spreads across his cheeks. "At least a few more-"

"Agent Gowin," a deep voice calls from behind me. I turn and see Thor, the god of thunder, striding towards me, clad in armor. His dirty blonde, shaggy hair frames his determined, bearded face.

"Thor."

"Fury asks that you see him immediately," he says.

Ignoring his statement, I reply with a coy smile, "Are you responsible for this impressive storm?"

"Not all storms are my doing, Miss Gowin," he replies with a charming smile.

I turn to Dr. Banner. "I'll have to catch up with you later, Bruce."

"I look forward to it," he says with another timid smile.

"Come," Thor says before turning and walking back down the hallway, his deep red cape billowing behind him. I'm having a difficult time not tripping over it.

A few turns later brings us to the meeting center; a large rectangular room overlooking the SHIELD control center through one-way glass. A line of tables forms a U around Fury, wearing a long black trench coat over his uniform. He scowls at me from underneath his eyepatch.

"Agent Gowin, I see you took a pit stop," he says as I take a seat. Thor hovers in the doorway.

"I was unaware that I was under a time constraint."

Without pause, Fury says, "You're being reassigned."

I blink confusedly. "Excuse me?"

"Your accomplishments as the psychological analyst for the Avengers initiative are unsurpassed. Dr. Banner is the most controlled we've ever seen him, and Steve Rogers has transitioned into our time period flawlessly."

"Then why reassign me?"

With a pause and a glace towards Thor, he replies, "There's been a death."

"Isn't there always?" I mutter.

"Agent Nelson committed suicide this evening."

"Agent Nelson? Wasn't she-"

"The overseer of Loki." Fury nods grimly. "It seems as though he convinced her to do it."

"And you want me to find out why."

"Not only why, Agent Gowin," he says. "But how."

I'm given an hour before I have to report to Loki's holding cell. I head back towards Dr. Banner's room, not knowing where else in the SHIELD facility I could blow an hour.

"Bad news, Dr. Banner," I say as I enter his room.

He looks up at me from his papers and removes his reading glasses. "Fury lost his patch?"

I shake my head. "Worse, I've been reassigned."

"You've been reassigned?" A voice asks from behind me. I peek into the hallway and see Captain Rogers coming towards me wearing a red shirt with rain-splattered jeans. Two cups of coffee steam in his hands. His short blonde hair is peppered with raindrops. I nod sadly as he enters the room.

"Here, I picked this up for you," Rogers said, handing me one of the warm cups. "I heard that you're going to have a long night."

"Well thanks, Cap," I say with a smile.

"Where have you been reassigned to?" Dr. Banner asks, getting up from behind his desk.

"Loki's overseer," I reply with a sigh. I sip my coffee. "But my unofficial job is to extract information." The two are silent as the news sinks in. I can reciprocate their disappointment; I've been working with the two – Bruce more often than Steve – for a few years now. "But don't worry guys. I'll still be around. I doubt our work together will ever be complete."

Steve gives me a smile, but Bruce seems more troubled.

"So," I say, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood. "Anyone heard from the newlyweds?"

"I talked to Natasha yesterday," Steve says. "They're enjoying their trip through Asia."

I smile. "I'm jealous they're missing this Loki business. I wish-"

"Savannah, I hope you know who you're dealing with," Bruce interrupts, stepping closer to me. "Loki is dangerous physically, but his psychological abilities-"

"You know I'm a psychologist, right?"

"He'll get into your mind, Savannah. Promise me you'll be cautious."

My eyes meet his. "Bruce, I'm trained expertly for this stuff. I've even had experience dealing with psychics." I try to look reassuring. "Besides, Fury wouldn't assign me to anything he thinks would be too much for me."

The two men nod, but still look morose. I sip my coffee.

After the team saved the world not only from Loki, but also an army of supernatural alien forces, SHIELD was unsure of what to do with the tesseract and the villain himself. Fury asked Thor if both could return to Asgard.

"No," Thor said, "Returning Loki home would cause war and great turmoil within my family. As for the tesseract, it will be taken care of."

With the iridescent glow of the tesseract removed from our planet, our top scientists constructed a holding cell specifically for Loki. Similar to the cell in the airship, it was circular with three feet of magic-suppressing glass separating the god of mischief from the rest of the world. Thor decided to remain on Earth with his brother. He claims it is to keep watch on him, but I have suspicions that his presence has something to do with a lovely woman named Jane.

I stride towards the holding cell and find Fury waiting for me outside the door. I look at him uncertainly.

"I chose you for a reason, Agent Gowin."

"Because I'm the only one deranged enough to accept?"

A hint of a smile. "Because you tamed a beast and exceeded all expectations I had for you. Think of this as a new challenge."

I nod as Fury opens the air-pressured door. I'm more nervous than I should be, given my extensive training and experience. I'm not a soldier, so I wasn't involved at all with the combat or missions involving the Avengers initiative, but I've heard accounts of Loki's abilities. But before the door slides open completely, I straighten myself out and hold my head a little higher. My weakness is Loki's strength.

"Good luck, Agent."

The door closes behind me and I nod to the agent standing at the computer to my left; he leaves silently. Without looking at the cell, I log into the computer panel.

"So you're the replacement," a silky voice says from within the cell. "Perhaps you'll last longer."

I shift my attention slowly from the computer to the cell, burying my uneasiness as deep as it will go. Loki stands in the middle of his cylindrical prison, smiling at me with his arms clasped behind his back. Robes of rich gold and emerald adorn his lean body. Shoulder-length black hair is combed back away from his face, showing his gleaming emerald eyes. He looks odd without his armor and horned helmet.

"Loki of Asgard," I say, taking slow steps towards him with my hands firmly on my hips. My eyes never leave his, just as his smile never falters; it's menacing yet playful. "My name is Agent Gowin. I am your new overseer."

A sarcastic laugh erupts from the man facing me. "The last one is killed off, and the new one is fairer. Well played, Fury," he says, almost to himself. "Are you not the one who tamed your monster?"

I give him a mocking smile. "Thanks to me, Dr. Banner is far from a monster," I reply calmly.

"Your Hulk was such a success. I assume that I'm your new project?" Loki steps up to the glass. His deep green eyes bore into mine, suddenly filled with livid fire. "I am a _god_! I am not an experiment, and I am not to be tampered with! Soon you puny mortals will know the wrath of Loki-"

"Because that wrath was so effective last time," I say, interrupting his rant. I look at him collectedly. "I have not come here to tame you, Loki."

Again, laughter comes from the prisoner, replacing the smoldering fury in his eyes. "Then what are your intentions, Agent Gowin?" His shifting moods slightly unnerve me.

I smile and turn my back on him. "It was a pleasure to meet you." I approach the computer and turn off the voice box within the cell. With amusement, I watch Loki yell at me once more, beating his fists against the thick glass. This might be questionable actions to some, but this sets the mood for my relationship with Loki. As long as he's in that cell, I'm in control.


End file.
